As is known, Telemark is a classic and elegant technique for curving or halting with skis, which has returned to popularity in cross-country skiing. This consists of bringing the external ski forward when curving, bringing one ski in front of the other and placing the body weight on it, while the knee of the internal leg is flexed up to brushing the ski, and the arms are spread so as to facilitate balance.
Devices are known that can be used only with corresponding boots.
The boots, in the rear part of the sole, form a transversal recess that defines a projection, with two seatings fashioned in the toe-piece of the sole.
These devices are constituted by a ratchet system to which two arms are connected, activatable by levers, for example a maneuvering lever and a safety lever hinged to the ski upstream with respect to two abutments that are complementary to the seatings.
The skier couples the seatings of the sole with the abutments. Following this, the ratchet is positioned at the projection position.
In a known way, intervention is made in order on the maneuvering lever and the safety lever, with a consequent forced enveloping of the projection by the ratchet. This leads to the removable blocking to the ski of the central-front part of the boot, the heel of the boot being de-constrained from the ski.
The drawback of the above devices derives from the fact that it is necessary to realize boots that can receive them, with the consequent costs this incurs.
Further devices are known that comprise an abutment formed by a plate blockable to the ski, against which the front part of the boot abuts, with two tie-rods, developing either by a side of or below the boot positioned on the plate, being subjected upstream to an activating device and connected downstream to a sort of jaw destined to embrace the lower-rear part of the boot.
The tie-rods are tensioned by use of the activating device. In this way the boot is constrained to the plate but the relative notch is disengaged therefrom.
The constructional complications of the devices described above are evident.